Oil separator



Aug. 10, 1948.

J. l. MORRISON OIL SEPARATOR Filed June 12, 1944 a D 0 {E Patented Aug. 10, 1948 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE Joseph I. Morrison, Lincolnwood, 111.

Application June 12, 1944, Serial No. 539,973

My invention relates to oil separators.

Oil in the refrigerating systems is an absolute necessity in the compressor. The bearings, wrist pins and cylinder walls must have oil. The suction and discharge valves act quicker and close tighter when they are lubricated. A compressor which passes a little oil through the discharge can be more eiiicient than one which doesnt lose a drop. But from here through the rest of the system, oil is a waster of power and water and is a brake on the production of desired temperatures.

It is a waster in the condenser and lowside. Therefore, it is highly desirable to provide a positive means of separating oil from the gas immediately after it leaves the compressor.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an oil separator for use with refrigerating systems and the like, in which the oil mist as well as the drops of oil will be separated out from the gasified refrigerant.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and claim.

In the drawings, in which an embodiment of my invention is shown,

Figure 1 is an axial sectional view of an oil trap;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig, 1; and

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2.

The construction shown comprises a hollow cylindrical shell I having upper and lower heads 2 and 3 and an intermediate partition 4 which provides upper and lower expansion chambers 5 and 6, a pair of helical passageways 1 and 8 leading downwardly from the expansion chamber 5 at the upper end of the cylinder into the expansion chamber 6 in the lower part of the cylinder, a gas inlet 9 from the compressor to the upper expansion chamber, a gas outlet ID from the lower expansion chamber 6 to the condenser side, and an oil drain H from the bottom of the lower expansion chamber 6.

The helical passageways l and 8 are similar in construction and the description of one will be sufiicient for both. Each comprises an outer cylindrical shell l2, an inner cylindrical core l3, and a helical partition I 4 extendin between the outer shell and the inner cylinder and forming therewith a helical passageway I or 8 leading from the upper expansion chamber 5 to the lower expansion chamber 6.

The discharge gas from the compressor enters the oil separator at the side near the top at 9. The gas passes into the inlet header 5 and is distributed around the inside of the separator. Due

to a velocity drop of 80 'per cent and a change in direction of now due to distribution the large drops separate out and drain down to the header plate 4 and down the helical passages 1 and 8.

From the inlet header the gas and oil mist enters the helical passages. The helical partitions I4 are Welded into the header and the header is welded into the walls of the cylinder I, so that all the gas and oil must pass down the helical passages, The sum of the free area of the helical passages is equal to the area of the inlet pipe 9. When the gas enters the helical passages, its velocity is stepped up again equal to the inlet velocity, traveling at a high speed inside the helical passages. The created centrifugal force throws the oil vapor and. gas against the helical inside Wall of the casing l2. The helical partition I4 is corrugated. During the passage down the helical passages, the oil vapor in the discharge gas is thrown against the walls, mixed and churned so that the vapor becomes large drops, which flow down the helical passages. The helical passage travel is a lineal distance of 12 to 18 feet.

At the bottom of the helical passage, the Velocity of the gas is again reduced per cent and the directional flow is reversed. The drops of oil fall into the oil basin and the oil-free gas passes up and through the outlet ID at the top of the separator.

For certain types of work, I have found that satisfactory results are obtained using a construction in which the cylinder I is about 30 inches high and 8%; inches in diameter and in which the inlet pipe 9 and the outlet pipe 10 are 1%; inch pipe. The apparatus may be designed to stand pressures up to 200 pounds or more.

It will be noted that the construction includes no moving parts. While I have shown a construction in which there are only tWo helical passageways 1 and 8, it is obvious that the number might be increased if higher capacity were desired, In practice, they have been constructed with twenty or more of these helical passageways.

Further modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art and it is desired, therefore, that the invention be limited only by the scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

An oil separator for separating oil from a gas or vapor comprising a vertical elongated casing having a horizontal partition therein adjacent its upper end to provide a distribution chamber thereabove and a separator chamber therebelow,

an inlet passag to said distribution chamber, a plurality of separators in said separator chamber extending downwardly from said partition and terminating a substantial distance above the bottom of said separator chamber, each separator comprising a helical passage in communication with said distribution chamber at its upper end and with said separator chamber at its lower end, and a discharge passage leading from the upper end of said separator chamber, the size of the passages and chambers being such as to provide a substantial velocity drop in the distribution chamber and in that part of the separator chamber below the separator, each separator comprising a centra1 core, a cylindrical shell surrounding said core and spaced there 1 from, and a helical ribbon extending around saidcore between said core and shell having radial corrugations flaring outwardly from the core to the shell.

JOSEPH I. MORRISON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 264,076 Gray Sept. 12, 1882 525,229 McMurrin Aug. 28, 1894 10 1,793,460 Binkley Feb. 24, 1931 1,816,871 Remington Aug. 4, 1931 1,973,063 Grier Sept. 11, 1934 1,997,125 Soyez et al Apr, 9, 1935 I FOREIGN PATENTS 15 Number Country Date 137,239 Austria Apr. 25, 1934 

